


50 Ways To Leave Your Lover

by Maldoror_Chant



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Heero/Duo get-together fic, M/M, Post-Series, slightly stalker-ish Relena
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 13:01:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12771627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maldoror_Chant/pseuds/Maldoror_Chant
Summary: Duo was well placed to know that Heero was a deadly cold hard-ass ex-terrorist with an attitude, so really, how hard could it be to have a girlnotfall for the prickly bastard?Answer: Pretty damn difficult, actually.





	1. The Problem

**Author's Note:**

> One of my very first fics, so yeah, a bit rough around the edges...

"Buddy!" Duo shouted as he burst through the door. He grinned at the gun that had jumped towards his head. "Wow, major flashback. Just like old times, uh?"

Heero stared at him for a second then twitched the gun away. "Duo?"

"The one and only Shinigami, partner." Man, Qat' was right, you do look terrible, Duo added mentally. But wasn't about to say it while the gun was still waving around.

Heero was standing in the middle of his spartan office, staring at his erstwhile partner with eyes a bit wide, the only sign of surprise at seeing him after nearly a year without much more than the occasional e-mail. Heero looked very tired, slightly disheveled in his Preventer's uniform and very, very edgy, Duo noticed, since Heero had apparently completely forgot about the cannon still loosely pointed at his friend. Or maybe he was remembering some of the jokes and pranks Duo had played on him during the war. Duo's grin tried to become even more disarming. It was tickling his ears now.

"So, how's life?" Please don't kill me.

"What- what are you doing here?" The gun was finally lowered.

"I need an excuse to see my old war partner?"

"No, no, I guess not. I'm...sorry."

Duo went and leaned quickly against the desk in case he fell down. "Say what?"

"I'm sorry I never came to see you on L2. You kept inviting me this past year but...things are complicated here."

"Really? Do tell." Duo sighed. He didn't really want to hear about it, which was why he'd never tried to come and see Heero either. From the sound of things, the amount of sugar in Heero's romance was enough to give cavities to every street rat on L2. But seeing Heero so...so worn and disarmed, and actually apologizing for something...

The phone rang.

Heero had his gun pointing at it in a flash. So 'disarmed' was probably not the right word.

Duo had been working for Hilde (aka the Slave Driver) for the past year and had picked up some automatic reactions to phones ringing, especially when he was being distracted by men waving guns around. His hand snaked to the phone without conscious volition.

"Hello, Maxwe-"

"Don't!"

Duo winced. He made an 'oops sorry' with his lips. "Sorry, say again?" he said into the phone.

He blinked.

"Relena? Is that you? Hey, Duo Maxwell here, long time no-...er, he's-"

"I'm not here! I've not been here all morning!' Heero mouthed aggressively.

"Um lemme check-" Duo hedged. He mouthed 'I don't lie!' but Heero had continued with a furious sweeping gesture.

"I'm nowhere in the building! I don't have my cell or pager, I don't- I don't exist, ok?!"

Duo's mouth hung open for a few seconds until several sharp questions from the phone brought him back.

"Erm, Relena, sorry, he can't come to the phone right now, he's, er, having some sort of existential crisis. Call back later, 'K?"

He hung up neatly without waiting for an answer and was faced with a furious scowl that made the end of his bangs frizzle.

With a snarl Heero leapt for the phone and punched a number (instead of Duo, for which the latter was thankful).

"Une, code R."

//Oh god not again.//

"I'm leaving while I can."

A sigh followed by a resigned, 'Fine, see you tomorrow.'

Duo stared at Heero's back and ran after him before the door quite managed to close.

"Whoa, what's up, problems with the missus?"

Heero glanced at him as he walked swiftly down the hallway. "No, for former enemies, Une and I work well together."

"I meant with the sweetie-pie. Relena," he added as Heero looked at him puzzled.

Soldier-boy has not lost any reflexes, a dazed Duo thought as he realized he was suddenly up against a wall, with his head ringing slightly and Heero shaking him by the trademark black shirt.

" _She's not my swee- my lover!_ "

Duo was left staring at Heero's back again, and barely managed to follow him as he dodged down a fire escape.

And so the whole story came out.

"She's _stalking_ you?"

"Yes, she spends every minute she's not working trying to 'be with me'. She's not allowed in the Preventer buildings, and she doesn't always know where I am, but when she finds out she starts trying to follow me. Hopefully she doesn't have one of her people on the back alley of the building. She has a whole team of aides to keep an eye on me." They'd landed on the ground after running down the fire-escape. Duo's head was spinning, and not only from the long, corkscrew stairs down. Not lovers! He'd been avoiding them for a year based on all the rumors, and they weren't...

"But you're still her bodyguard."

"Hn. Head of security now. That's not too bad, she's all business while she's working. The problem is that I'm always in the same town and often in the same hotel, if I can't sleep at the local Preventer HQ. Makes her hard to avoid."

"Can't Une post you to Mars or something?"

"Relena has a lot of swing in politics, and has made various threats. Like giving it all up to follow me if I leave."

"But Une-"

"The thing is, Une has decided there's only so much we can do about this. Relena is central to a lot of peace movements and deals. She needs to stay in politics. And keep her image intact."

"But this is weird, man!"

"Her whole family was killed, she saw her foster father die, she's been a prisoner and threatened several times, she's been in the midst of many battles and has survived a war...Une says that if her obsession with me is the only way her trauma is expressed, it's a small price to pay."

"Well that's damn easy for Une to say, you're the one paying it!"

"That's what I said. So she reminded me about the war-crimes tribunal."

"What war-crimes tribunal?"

"Precisely."

"Oh, she _so_ can't hold your war record over your head!"

"I thought that was pretty ironic too, coming from her, but there you go. Until Relena gets tired of chasing me, I'm just going to have to stick it."

Heero dodged out of sight as two people, a man and women in business suits, circled the building looking around. Duo had wondered if the pressure had made the perfect soldier paranoid, but he was starting to reconsider. They did look like they were searching for someone.

"So you have to leave your lover-"

"She's not my lover!"

"O-kaaay, you have to get Relena to give up on you. That shouldn't be hard." Considering you're as friendly as a scorpion and about ten times as deadly. "Did you talk to her about it?"

"Duo, do you even know the meaning of the word 'obsession'? I know it's got more than two syllables, but-"

"Hey, be nice now, I'm trying to help."

"Help?" Heero was walking swiftly down the crowded streets. People moved out of the way - or sometimes dived for the street or into dumpsters at the sight of his scowl. Duo was following, dodging the people who'd let his friend pass, as well as parked cars, traffic signs, mailboxes, hydrants and occasionally the gutter, trying to keep level with Heero.

"You can't help, Duo. No one can help."

"We could have at least tried if you'd told us there was a problem! Everybody thinks you two are an item! They think it's sweet the way you two are always together!" Heero winced. "Quatre mentioned you looked a bit peaky and might be having girl troubles, that's why I wondered if you were really having a fairy-tale romance. I didn't imagine I'd wander into a stalker horror flick when I came here though. So I gather you talked to her?"

"I talked to her, I talked to her friends, I talked to her foster mother - she feels very sorry for me by the way - I tried everything."

"Did you try writing her a letter?"

"A letter? I told her to her face I want nothing to do with her, why would-"

"A letter makes you sound colder, less defensive, and it's harder to work her own interpretation into it when it's there in front of her face, instead of in one ear and out the other."

"I wrote her an email."

"Hmm, let me guess. I'll kill you?"

"Yes, except that one bounced off the security program I'd installed on her email server to scan for death threats. So I sent a second, longer one."

"Which said?"

"'Leave me alone, or else'. Didn't work."

"Yeeees. Ok, what about the green-eyed monster?"

"Her eyes are blue."

"I meant, how about telling her you already have a girlfriend?"

"She knows every inch of my life, she wouldn't buy it."

"How about pickin' up a little fling then, nothing serious but-"

"Idiot! I already have two crazy women after me, I don't need-"

"Whoa, two?!"

"Yes, that secretary at HQ, Carol, Karin, something."

"How do you know-"

"She comes by ten times a day asking me if I want coffee."

"Maybe she just wants to know if you want coffee."

"I don't _drink_ coffee. And yes I have told her that!"

"What aftershave do you use?"

"Why, is this some other kind of plan?"

"No, no reason...Ok, what is Relena most scared of?"

"Not me, that's for certain."

"Scandal! She likes her little image of queen of the world."

"So?"

"So make a big scene in some public place!"

"I don't like making a display of myself."

"Yeah but I'm starting to think you like Relena a whole lot less."

"...A big scene, like...breaking a table in a restaurant with my fists?"

Duo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess that might work. You can throw in a lot of yelling too."

"There certainly was a lot of yelling, though I didn't stick around for it."

"Wh-what?"

"Restaurant. Political rally. Ran out of chairs."

"...and so you broke a table?" Damn, his temper has not improved.

"She tried to sit on my lap. I swear Duo, if that smile actually reaches your lips, I'll break your spine as easily as that goddamn table."

"Fine, time for the big guns. Lemme see. I know it's a bit extreme, but..."

Sharp glance.

"Ah, you could tell her you're, um, now remember, this is just a ruse, so don't kill me, but maybe you can tell her you're gay?"

"I am gay."

_Bo-ong._

Heero turned back with a snarl and a glare at a recumbent Duo, and then he glanced at the Stop sign still vibrating under the shock of the full frontal tackle Duo had involuntarily subjected it to.

"Wh-wh-"

"Look where you're going, idiot! We need to keep moving. She'll be circling the streets around the building by now."

"Bu-but-you-"

"Yes, I told her that too, and she said that love shouldn't be a matter of gender. I told her in my case it was, and she said that I was a bigot and she would help me get past that."

"Man...You- er- you really are-"

"Any other bright ideas? That won't get me a sentence for first degree?"

"So are you seeing someone?"

"I don't think that would work; if I rub her nose in a relationship, that would just make her jealous as well as obsessed-"

"So you _are_ seeing someone-"

"-and I refuse to subject anybody to that kind of stress."

"So you're _not_ seeing someone."

"How can I see someone when I can't go anywhere without running into her or one of her people? I spend my time ducking behind cover instead of making acquaintances! And I refuse to get interested in anyone I work with. I've got enough problems. Any other bright ideas?"

"...I'm sorry my head is still spinning...Have you tried a restraining order?"

"I wanted to. But Une buried that before it could fly, because of the scandal."

"Erm...fake your death?"

Glare.

"Too extreme. Did you try sleeping with her?"

Duo slammed into a rigid, well-muscled back as Heero screeched to a halt.

_"What??" ___

__"Well you know, some girls, they call it romance but really when you get down to it they lose interest after the high point is reached and-"_ _

__Old stony-face actually looked nauseous. " ...Maybe I _could_ fake my death...we have a witness relocation program."_ _

__"Let's not panic yet. Have you tried developing a habit she finds repulsive?"_ _

__"Like, for instance, being a terrorist?" Heero started walking again, his scowl acting like a cattleprod to the people on the streets who were foolish enough to get in his way._ _

__"Ah, yes. Well actually, no. You see, that's something she thinks she can 'save' you from, in her romantic little mind."_ _

__"Her demented little mind."_ _

__"Maybe if you stopped taking a shower for a few weeks-"_ _

__"It wouldn't work."_ _

__"I'm almost afraid to ask how you know."_ _

__"I ran into her just as I was coming back from my last undercover mission. My clothes were in tatters, I hadn't washed for a week, hadn't slept in three days, hadn't eaten in two, and I'd just slogged through a sewer."_ _

__"What did she say?"_ _

__"That she understood why I neglected myself, it was obvious I didn't take care of myself when she wasn't around, and she would look after me from now on. And that she'd gotten Une to agree to no longer let me take undercover missions."_ _

__"...I'm surprised you didn't clock her one."_ _

__"I did."_ _

__"And?"_ _

__"She forgave me."_ _

__"I've known tattoos that were easier to shake off."_ _

__"Hn."_ _

__Duo looked at his friend as they dodged down an alley, across a street and into a small park._ _

__"Right, well, time for the Extreme Measure I guess."_ _

__Heero finally slowed and glanced around suspiciously. No one was around. He relaxed a fraction and leaned back against a planter. He didn't have much hope for Duo's extreme measure, despite the capitalization, but he was willing to listen. It was nice to see him again. Just listening to Duo somehow lifted his spirits, though this wouldn't be visible on the perfect soldier's face._ _

__He'd missed the joker. He would have liked to visit him on L2, especially after he'd heard that he was only employed by Hilde and not-... but that would have been complicated since Relena would have followed him and...Heero sighed._ _

__"So what's the extreme- sorry, Extreme Measure?"_ _

__Duo was uncharacteristically serious, eyes resolute, jaw firm, shoulders squared. He looked like he'd been handed a particularly arduous mission, one that would cost him both physically and mentally. Heero felt a touch of sudden anxiety._ _

__"First, you're gonna promise me not to kill me for any part of this plan."_ _

__"Uh..."_ _

__"Promise?"_ _

__"Very well." How could it be worse than what he was going through with Relena on a daily basis?_ _

__On the face of it, it certainly was. Heero found himself flexing his hand on his gun at several points during Duo's explanation._ _


	2. The Solution

The restaurant was hushed and romantic, trembling in candlelight and caressed by the sound of violins.

Heero looked about as comfortable as a novice fakir on a bed of particularly sharp nails, but Relena didn't notice. Possibly the candlelight was not bright enough. All she knew was that her dream had finally come true. Heero had asked her out on a date. She knew he'd come around eventually.

He got to the point before they'd even gotten to the soup.

"Relena, you know I've been living in one of Quatre's mansions while I was in this town?"

Relena murmured an appropriate response while noting the information on her napkin; she'd not been able to find out where the silly goose was staying yet. Really, she knew how ashamed he was of his past, his violent tendencies, all his death-threats - obviously a sign she'd come too close, had threatened the armor her knight had clad himself in... He just went to such extremes to keep them apart when destiny was trying so hard to bring them together.

That he'd volunteered the information...her heart fluttered.

"It's a very big house. Lot of rooms." He was being abrupt to hide his feelings again. Poor wounded angel. Er, what was he saying?

"Yes?"

"Relena...I have a favor to ask of you." Heero took another sip of water to clear the obstruction in his throat.

Relena's heart fluttered again. This was certainly new.

"Relena..." God bless him, how he hesitated, he was really so shy. "You have to realize...soldiers...soldiers who have survived what a Gundam pilot has survived are...difficult."

"Oh no, Heero." This looked less promising. He wasn't going to try to discourage her again, was he?

"It's hard to reach out to someone who's been damaged like that. It takes someone of great mental strength to do it."

"I know that." How she knew that! It was her mission in life.

"If you think you can, that is, if you don't mind, would you please do me the favor - I have a ten day vacation."

Relena smiled brightly while desperately trying to follow the conversation. Even she was beginning to realize there was something very strange about the perfect soldier today.

"Une makes me take them. And I'll be stuck at Quatre's mansion, which is quite big. I-I think I might need your help and your support," Relena's mouth dropped open, "because the consequences of war on the mind can be hard to bear, but if you're up to the stress, well, would you come live with me for ten days?"

Heero carefully poured Relena a glass of water and waited for her to recuperate. He looked glum.

"Oh Heero!"

"I wouldn't ask, but you did say you were always willing to help a, er, a 'war-wounded soul', I think you said. But it won't be easy. You will have to be patient, know when to talk and when to listen. Unconditional support is critical. Do you think you can bear with a troubled soldier? Help him live a normal life?"

"Oh Heero, of course, I'd bear anything to be with you!" Amazement was mingled with jubilation.

"Good. He'll be glad to hear it."

"Oh Heero, I have dreamed of this day since- he who?"

She squeaked as a pair of hands suddenly covered her eyes.

"Guess who?! RELENA BABY! LONG TIME NO SEE!"

The quiet of the room teetered on the edge and shattered. Relena tore the hands off of her eyes and stared around her, but a black blur was already past her and bouncing into the chair next to Heero's with a crash.

"Sorry I'm late, sweeties, traffic was a BITCH!"

"M-Maxwell?!" Relena stared at the intruder in amazement. Deathscythe's ex-pilot was lounging in the chair, shoulder practically touching Heero's, jerking on his braid, eyes preternaturally bright. He seemed to be thrumming slightly.

"So did she say yes? Uh? Did she? Uh?" His eyes were skittering between her and Heero. The question seemed to be addressed to the latter.

"Hn." Heero nodded.

"Outstanding! You'll see, 'Lena, we're going to have a ball! This is gonna rock!" His words tumbled out quickly and way too loud, the restaurant seemed to thrum slightly all around them. Relena glanced around, blushing furiously, then whipped back in horror as what he said penetrated her embarrassment.

"What? What do you mean, 'we'?"

"Just like during the war! Except it's one of Quatre's pads instead of a school dorm. How cool is that, no curfew!"

Relena made a sound like a duck with a cracker caught in its throat.

"You should see the place Quatre let us borrow! Daddy big bucks! We each have our own room. If we want to of course. Mind you, we might want to change that arrangement shortly. Hm? I hear you've got the hots for Heero here. Baby you got guts! I'll give you that! I don't mind though. Hey, could be interesting! Did I mention I'm bi? It could be very interesting. Hmm? Didn't I mention I'm bi? I thought I did. Hey, guys, I'm bi!"

In the mortified stillness of the restaurant, the violins hit a sour note and strangled themselves into silence.

Relena finally turned the single most horrified glance ever in Heero's direction.

Instead of shooting the animal out of hand, he was sitting there calmly, looking at Duo with only some surprise on his face. Apparently that last detail was news to him too.

Feeling her glance - it was about as hard to ignore as a blowtorch - he turned towards her.

"Oh no, don't worry," he said quickly. "We each have our own room. And they have locks. So don't worry. Duo is a very affectionate person-" Duo crossed the last two inches between him and Heero to lean against his shoulder and nuzzle against his neck, "but he will take no for an answer. Er, eventually. If you hit him he'll definitely understand you mean no."

Relena did the distressed duck sound again.

"He's fine as long as he takes- ah, Duo, you are taking your medication, right?"

"Sure thing, Hee-man! All those little round brown thingies, five times a day, and an extra dose if I see anything 'weird'. Weirder than usual. Or if you tell me to. Did you want me to take one now?"

"No, Duo, you're not too bad now. Maybe later, if you get worse."

"Whatever you say sugar!" He turned in his chair so he was leaning the back of his head against Heero's shoulder and starting playing puppet with the end of his braid.

Relena finally closed her mouth with a click that hurt her teeth.

"But-but Heero, are you saying he's going to live with us?"

"Oh no."

Relena sagged in relief.

"He only has to live with one other person, not two, and I've taken the job. At least until the doctor says he can try again on his own, but that won't be for a few years, probably. But as I said, if you would do me the favor of visiting with us for a few days, I'd really appreciate it."

Relena made a whimpering noise in her throat. "But why does he have to live with you?!"

Heero put a fond and gentle arm around his friend's shoulder.

"He's got...issues. Scars from the war. But he can get better with a steadying influence in his life. That is what you keep telling me, right?"

"What?" Relena squeaked.

"I've been thinking maybe you're right. I am violent, I probably do have problems." Duo exploded into a fit of laughter that nearly knocked him off his chair and made the candle on the next table over go out. Much to the relief of the patrons there who took advantage of the sudden darkness to make a run for the door.

"You've always said that you would take care of me, help me through my issues. Steady me. Well Duo needs steadying too," Duo had added a napkin to the puppet show. Apparently his braid puppet was trying to strangle it. "As his old partner and best friend, I'm glad to help him. But it would be nice if you could show me how it's supposed to be done, and maybe help us both for a few days. Right, Duo?"

Duo was looking at his braid's end fixedly. "Pretty..." he whispered.

"Ah, I'm sorry about dinner, Relena, but I think we'd better go. I'll call you and let you know the address. Can you be there tomorrow? Ten o'clock? I know it's a lot to ask. You don't have to help me with him if you don't want to. But I could really do with the support you always give me, and I'm sure Duo would like to talk about something other than the war. You always have such interesting topics to discuss, and your peace speeches are so inspiring I'm sure it will do him a lot of good." Heero was talking quickly as he maneuvered Duo up from the chair and away from the table where he was attempting to juggle the silverware. "See you tomorrow at ten."

He didn't wait for an answer. It wasn't very informative anyway. Unless you were a duck.

 

 

Three days later...

Heero walked through the beautiful silence. He smoothed the bed again. He'd already remade it twice with military correctness - the corners could have been used in precision instrumentation - but he smoothed it again anyway. He lingered at the dresser, wonderfully empty of any beige or pink suits.

He caught himself sharply. He should stop lingering. He had a duty to perform to a fallen comrade. He collected the tray, left the wonderfully empty suite and walked past his room to the third door.

He entered as quietly as he could, but the figure laid out on the bed still twitched and trembled.

"Duo?" he whispered.

There was a groan.

Heero sat on the edge of the wide bed and looked down at the remains of Shinigami. The black clothes stood out in stark contrast to the white bedcover he was laying on. He had a wet washcloth over his eyes. Occasionally he'd jerk and groan.

"Duo, here. Take this."

"Mf?"

"Extra strength throat lozenge, aspirin, and I want you to drink this milk."

"Milk?" The bed jerked under a violent tremble. The voice was a hoarse caricature of Duo's usual cheery tone.

"The caseine will soak up some of the damage. Duo, drink it or I'll drag you off to a hospital."

"Mf." A hand reached for the beaker, with a cap and a straw arrangement to avoid spills. Heero kept a hold on it as well since Duo's hand was trembling so badly the milk was going to be a shake by the time it reached him otherwise.

Heero stared at the bag near the bed while Duo slurped the milk. The bag full of 'medication'. The 'little round brown things'.

"Duo...how many of these were you taking?"

"A dozen or more, five times a day, like I told her. You know I don't lie!" Twitch.

Heero carefully picked up the bag of chocolate covered espresso beans as if they might explode. There had been a lot more than that in the original one kilo bag.

"I think I _should_ take you to a hospital, idiot," he muttered.

Silence fell again. It was a nervous silence; it had been severely thrashed every hour of the last three days and nights. It wasn't used to being left intact for more than five consecutive seconds.

Heero looked down at the quivering figure on the bed.

"Duo...I don't know how to thank-"

"She held out a lot longer than I thought she would!" Duo's voice was all over the scale. Every one of his muscles was thrumming. He felt like a percussion orchestra in the middle of some particularly vigorous concert. "Three days! Who knew she was that tough! They should have made her a Gundam pilot!"

"Hn."

Duo practically flew off the bed as he felt a gentle hand take his, feel his pulse. Heero muttered 'hospital' but Duo shook his head. It took him a minute to stop once he'd started.

"Nononononono, I'm ok, I'm ok. Just need to sleep! Should be able to by this weekend."

"Duo, we're Tuesday."

"Ok, maybe by next Monday then." He sucked the throat lozenge and felt some small relief to his shredded vocal cords.

The hand on his pulse was still there. That was probably increasing it, Duo thought skittishly.

"Did-did she really leave? I mean, leave you?" Duo was tough, but he'd just about reached his limits. His heart was thumping and squirming against his chest like a sack full of cats.

"Yes. She gave me a short speech that boils down to the fact that she is no longer interested in rehabilitating shell-shocked soldiers. At all. She was screaming at the end so I think she meant it."

"I wonder what clinched it. Sleep deprivation? The strip poker-solitaire? The whipped cream incident? The Shinigami episodes? The photos? 'Ninety-nine thousand bottles of beer on the wall'?"

"I think it was my reminding her that I'd promised your 'doctor' not to let you out of my sight for the foreseeable future."

"Ah, yeah, good thing that you can lie if you need to." Twitch.

"Hm, talking of lying..."

"What's that, bud? Don't whisper, the blood is pounding in my ears a bit."

"I said, talking of lying, or not lying...All that stuff you told her. Was everything true?"

"Yeppers! Well not the bit about the underwear, that was an exaggeration. And the thing about the bread, that was just a joke. And-"

"-being bisexual?"

"Oh that's true enough. The thing about the umbrella was true too, and the bit about what I did to WuFei's ponytail is true and nearly-

"Are you seeing someone-"

"-got me killed, the boy reaaaally needs a sense of humor. Now, the bit about being the swinger in a three-way party, erm-"

"That's right, you are seeing someone..." several someones by the sound of it.

"-well, that, to be honest, was a-...ah, flight of fancy, shall we say. I was trying to scare her, but she didn't catch my drift at all. Hehehe. Or maybe she realized no one's been able to put up with me for more than a few days." Twitch, twitch.

"So you are not seeing-"

"What's that, man? Speak up, my ears are ringing. Might be my brain, mind you."

"I said...you're okay without the caffeine."

A trembling hand lifted the washcloth from a single red eye.

"...You mean that?"

"Sure, Duo."

The eye looked him over carefully. Heero's face was as unreadable as ever. "You do actually look okay. I was afraid you'd have shot me by now."

"I wouldn't do that. Not after you went through all that to get rid of Relena for me."

"Mf." The washcloth dropped down again. "I couldn't leave you at the mercy of the enemy like that...and I didn't want to shoot you...sure I've got the jitters, but I'll be fine. Hope you can put up with me for a few more days."

"For the rest of my life, if you'll let me."

"Whazzat? Speak up."

"...I said...you need rest, to get over the coffee."

"You're probably right. I'll close my eyes and stare at the pretty pictures there. Uh, I guess you've got stuff to do, right?" He noticed the hand still on his, no longer on his pulse.

"Nothing right now, no. I'll stay."

The extreme nervous twitch made the washcloth fly off. "You want to stay with Duo Maxwell on a caffeine high? You nuts?"

"We've been through a lot together, won two wars, beat Oz and Romefeller, took out Libra, shared a dorm...I think I can manage this mission." He took Duo's hand in both of his.

"You won't get _me_ to leave that easily."

For the fist time in three days, Duo's mouth was open but no sound was coming out.


End file.
